LESLIE DAVIS BURNS

Montana 4-H taught Leslie the skills to lead for a lifetime.

I started sewing in elementary school (in Cut Bank, Montana), first making doll clothes, then on to placemats, and then making clothes for myself through my 4-H club. In high school (CM Russell High School, Great Falls, Montana), I started designing clothing patterns. As a senior in high school I expanded my interest in clothing construction and pattern making through a 5-month apprenticeship with a family friend (Cele Forzley) who had taught clothing courses at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She taught me advanced sewing and tailoring techniques (what I later learned were “couture” techniques). With this background, I tailored a suit for my father and a wool coat ensemble for myself as my culminating 4-H projects. I won the Montana State 4-H Dress Revue (now called Fashion Revue) with the coat ensemble and attended National 4-H Congress (then held in Chicago) in Dress Revue in 1974. Throughout my years in 4-H I also served as a camp counselor at county and state level camps, served as a junior leader, and participated in 4-H demonstrations. My first demonstration was on how to make a cheese ball. My final 4-H demonstration was a “performance” with my cousin (Mary Ann Ceynar Mayernik) on “How to Give A Demonstration”; she was the “How to” and I was the “How Not to” give a demonstration on making baking powder biscuits. I can still remember the judges laughing so hard they were crying. Little did I know at the time that fashion, education, and public speaking would play such important roles in my career!

My love of apparel design and fashion continued. I went on to college, first at Montana State University and then transferring to Washington State University where I earned a B.A. Summa Cum Laude in Fashion Merchandising with a Social Science option. During my junior year at WSU, I took a course in Social Science Research and realized that I could combine my love for fashion with a career in marketing research. I went on to graduate school at Purdue University, first in a master’s of retailing program and ultimately transferring into a Ph.D. program in Consumer Sciences and Retailing. Upon receiving my Ph.D., I taught at San Diego University for one year, Utah State University for three years, and for 29 ½ years at Oregon State University where I was a Professor of Apparel Design and Merchandising Management, teaching fashion forecasting, retail merchandising, and global sourcing in the fashion industry. I have co-authored six books including the best-selling text The Business of Fashion: Designing, Manufacturing, and Marketing, now in its 5th edition (2016, NY: Fairchild books) and am the author of a new book Sustainability and Social Change in Fashion (2018, NY: Fairchild Books). I am also the author/co-author of 65 articles in research journals including the Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, and Journal of Consumer Marketing. I am currently the Editor-in-Chief of the new online resource, Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases, which will launch in Fall 2018. During my career I received numerous academic awards including OSU’s Burlington Faculty Achievement Award, Bressler Senior Faculty Teaching Award, L.L. Stewart Scholar Award, Women of Achievement Award, D. Curtis Mumford Faculty Service Award, and the “Beaver Champion” Award (awarded by the President of Oregon State University to 1-2 individuals each year for achievement of excellence and effort beyond that requested). I also received awards given by the International Textile and Apparel Association including Distinguished Scholar Award, Educator of the Year Award, and Fellow recognition. Upon “retiring” from Oregon State (I am now Professor Emerita), I started an educational consultancy, Responsible Global Fashion LLC (www.responsibleglobalfashion.com) continuing my love of fashion, research, and education – and it all began with 4-H!